Fox has come up with a solution to the problem that has plagued film studios since before "Crash" used a then-novel strategy in its successful Oscar push: is it worth it to send screeners to all the voting members of the Screen Actors Guild?
With membership numbering on the high side of 100,000 and voting members (i.e., ones who are current with their dues) coming in just under that figure this year, SAG is by far the most expensive guild to service with screener DVDs. So Fox Filmed Entertainment has announced a new approach: for three weeks, beginning Friday and running until SAG polls close on February 28, voters will be able to view Fox Searchlight's "127 Hours," "Black Swan" and "Conviction" via iTunes.
The Fox Searchlight nominees are James Franco for "127 Hours," Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis for "Black Swan" and Hilary Swank for "Conviction."
Although SAG nominating committee members (who number 2,100) are routinely serviced with screeners during the first stage of voting, the cost of serving the entire SAG membership with screeners has always been a deterrent to studios. Some, however, began to reconsider after Lionsgate sent out more than 100,000 DVDs of "Crash" in 2005, and then rode the momentum from a SAG Best Ensemble victory to an upset Oscar Best Picture win.
The iTunes arrangement will allow voting members to view the films on iPads, iPhones, iPod Touches, Macs and PCs, as well as on their television monitors with the proper equipment.
“We are thrilled at the nominations these fantastic films have received from this prestigious group, and while we would always prefer voters see films in a theaters, we realize that is not always possible, so we wanted to make sure as many voters as possible have the opportunity to screen them," Fox Filmed Entertainment CEO Jim Gianopulos said in a press release announcing the arrangement.
